In 2014, Maud Lindsay-Gamrat made a decision that would change her life. She left her corporate role to start a catering company.
“I had spent 15 years in senior management at a multinational inflight catering company. I had mastered the systems, the compliance protocols, and the operational discipline required to deliver excellence under pressure. And I knew Ghana needed that expertise,” she recalls.
Ghana’s oil and gas sector had opened up for local content. However, foreign catering companies were winning most of the contracts.
“I kept thinking, we can do this. Ghanaians can deliver at this level. The opportunity was there for local content players who could meet international standards. So, I stepped up,” Lindsay-Gamrat says.
Ten years later, Atlantic Catering and Logistics Ltd employs 600 people.
The company now ranks 20th on Ghana’s prestigious Club 100 list by GIPC. It serves oil and gas multinationals, mining operations, and airline companies across locations from Accra to Takoradi to Ahafo.
It is the first Ghanaian catering company to join the UN Global Compact Network and has three ISO certifications for food safety, environmental management, and occupational health.
In industries where one food safety incident can halt operations, these certifications are not optional. They are essential.
“These companies needed catering partners who understood compliance, food safety, and operational reliability at the highest level. I had spent 15 years learning exactly that,” Lindsay-Gamrat says.
Her corporate background gave her operational systems built for precision and consistency. She brought that same discipline to offshore platforms, mining sites, and corporate facilities.
She also built something else into the company. Atlantic Catering has made developing people a priority.
Atlantic Catering runs dedicated development programmes for employees, with particular focus on women, including emotional intelligence training and leadership courses.
“The only thing more beautiful than a woman is a group of women. I believe in lifting as I climb,” she says.
That philosophy extends beyond her payroll. Atlantic Catering sources ingredients from smallholder farmers across Ghana, channelling revenue back into rural communities.
“Every tomato, every yam, every pepper we buy from a Ghanaian farmer is money that stays in our economy. We are not just feeding our clients, we are enabling livelihoods,” she says.
Through ‘Clean Bites’, a CSR initiative under the Atlantic Cares Foundation, the company trained over 1,300 street food vendors in safe food handling and sanitation practices at no cost.
“Excellence should not be reserved for multinationals. Every Ghanaian deserves safe food,” Lindsay-Gamrat says.
Lindsay-Gamrat, who has a Business degree from the University of Professional Studies, Accra, and a Global Executive MBA from China Europe International Business School, knows building a world-class Ghanaian business takes persistence and smart investment.
She has proven what local capacity can achieve.
Now, she wants to take Atlantic Catering beyond Ghana’s borders.
“I want Atlantic Catering to become the leading catering business not just in Ghana, but across our dear continent. It is an opportunity to showcase our cross-continental cuisines, which are a big part of our culture,” she says.
In 2014, foreign companies dominated catering for Ghana’s extractive sector. Today, a Ghanaian company employs 600 people serving the country’s most demanding clients.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com